Sunday, October 01, 2006

William Lind has a new book called the American Way of Strategy (a clear nod to Russell Weigley) In it he argues that the post-cold war US strategy is a disaster and the US should turn to "offshore balancing" and the possibility of acting in concert with the other great powers to deal with the major issues of the day. For me there is a strong element of Can't Get There From Here to that. Do China, India, Russia, Germany, France, Japan, the UK and US agree about anything? Take the US out of the picture and they still can't agree on anything. Maybe at some watered down and pointless level. And how does the United States withdraw from its commitments when no one else is anywhere near capable of stepping in? I think he is right to argue that the American system as is today (although not in the Clinton era) is too expensive and provides too little value to the country. This book would go well with Charles Kupchan and Stephen Walt recent books which ask why the US can't change. At the very least, it is worth discussing whether the role the US plays is a benefit or not.